Winners of Lion’s Lair 2017

The winners were announced for this year’s Hamilton Lion’s Lair competition Wednesday night at the Lion’s Lair Gala.

LiONʼS LAIR is an annual competition presented by Innovation Factory and the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, which brings together the entrepreneurship and innovation community in Hamilton. The competition gives 10 companies the opportunity to pitch their ideas to a panel of our city’s top business experts – the “Lions” – for a chance to win over $100,000 in cash and in-kind resources!

1st Place Winner: AIVA Labs

Aiva Labs helps small businesses create overlay marketing campaigns on their website. These campaigns are designed to convert web traffic through special offers, call to action messaging, video, and more. The suite features an easy-to-use campaign builder and powerful analytics tools to ensure campaign success. With Aiva Labs, marketers can easily share controlled brand experiences—no coding required.

The startup received $79K in prizes.

2nd Place Winner: Oneiric Hockey

Getting dressed for hockey can be a hassle, especially for youth players. Despite the fact that players have to dress in thirteen or more different pieces of equipment, there are still critical gaps in safety left by current equipment on the market. Oneiric Hockey has developed innovative, patented protective base layer apparel for hockey players that allows them to get dressed faster, provides additional safety in areas currently left exposed, and holds shin pads securely in place.

Oneiric won $59k in prizes.

3rd Place Winner: Lumago

Lumago provides an aquaponics system that is customizable, expandable, and fully automated. Aquaponics is an alternative farming technique that can decrease farming costs, increase yields, and provide certified organic produce. The method combines aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (growing plants in water) into one system. With the Lumago system, farmers can implement aquaponics and expand as their needs change.

Lumago won $43K in prizes.

People’s Choice Award Winner: BridesMade

$2.6B is spent on bridesmaid dresses every year, and millennial bridesmaids complain about the cost and process. Through a rental model, online experience, and fitting algorithm, BridesMade solves these problems. Bridesmaids can rent size-adjustable designs through the BridesMade online portal and have it shipped to their doorstep. By renting their dress, bridesmaids can save an average of 60% off retail. A special fitting algorithim also ensures that bridesmaids get the perfect fit entirely online.

Hamilton Award Winner: Dolled Up Desserts

Dolled Up Desserts is a wholesale bakery offering gluten free and vegan treats and baking mixes. The bakery was founded with the mission to empower those with dietary differences to conveniently enjoy dessert without sacrificing taste, texture, or nutrition. Their 100% gluten free, vegan, and soy free baking mixes allow the home baker to easily make their favourite treats, including fudgy brownies, banana muffins, chocolate cake, and more. Dolled Up Desserts baked goods and baking mixes can be found in dozens of retail stores across Southern Ontario.

Update October 4th: Corrections were made to this article. Dolled Up Desserts was incorrectly listed as the People’s Choice Award winner, but was the Hamilton Award Winner. BridesMade won People’s Choice. Prize values for Oneiric Hockey and Lumago were incorrect and have been updated.